Expressing support for Ukraine in its upcoming elections and opposing any Russian interference in Ukraine's elections.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 249 Expressing support for Ukraine in its upcoming elections and opposing any Russian interference in Ukraine’s elections. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 21, 2019 Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. HARRIS, and Mr. QUIGLEY) submitted the following resolu- tion; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing support for Ukraine in its upcoming elections and opposing any Russian interference in Ukraine’s elections. Whereas in an effort to undermine democracy in Ukraine, Russian hackers targeted the country’s voting infrastruc- ture just days before its 2014 Presidential election; Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation con- tinues to undermine democratic processes and institu- tions in Ukraine and threatens the peace, security, sta- bility, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in- cluding through its illegal occupation of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine; Whereas the Director of National Intelligence, James Clap- per, testified before Congress on January 5, 2017, and stated, ‘‘Russia also has used cyber tactics and tech- VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR249.IH HR249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 249 IH niques to seek to influence public opinion across Europe and Eurasia’’; Whereas in the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the United States Intelligence Community, Director of Na- tional Intelligence Daniel Coats stated, ‘‘Russia’s inter- ception of Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait and deten- tion of the ships’ sailors in November 2018 demonstrates Russia’s willingness to limit Ukrainian freedom of navi- gation in the area and exert political pressure on the country’s leadership, particularly in advance of Ukraine’s elections this year . . . Russia is taking steps to influ- ence these elections, applying a range of tools to exert in- fluence and exploit Kyiv’s fragile economy, widespread corruption, cyber vulnerabilities, and public discontent in hopes of ousting Poroshenko and bringing to power a less anti-Russia Parliament’’; Whereas Ukraine will hold its Presidential election on March 31, 2019, and parliamentary elections in the fall of 2019; and Whereas, on March 6, 2019, Ukraine reported thwarting at- tempts of the Russian Federation to organize hacker at- tacks on Ukrainian state agencies tasked with preparing and conducting the elections: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) strongly supports the right of the people of 2 Ukraine to freely elect their government and deter- 3 mine their future; 4 (2) strongly supports the sovereignty and terri- 5 torial integrity of Ukraine; 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR249.IH HR249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 249 IH (3) strongly condemns attempts by the Govern- 1 ment of the Russian Federation, and its agents, to 2 interfere in Ukraine’s elections including via malign 3 cyber operations and by seeking to influence the 4 public opinion through their controlled media outlets 5 and social networks; and 6 (4) strongly encourages the United States Gov- 7 ernment to assist the Government of Ukraine in ef- 8 forts to protect Ukraine’s election infrastructure 9 from cyber and other threats. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR249.IH HR249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS